The Eagle's Prey
by blissful catatonia
Summary: Modern AU. Altaïr is a devoted member of the assassin order and when he is sent to track down and eliminate the deadliest of all Templar agents he approaches the job with his usual cold professionalism that is until he meets his target face to face. Rated M for violence swearing and adult content.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Ubisoft own Assassins creed and all character associated with it.

Prologue

* * *

She entered the two-story warehouse with cautious steps, not afraid of what she would find inside but hoping to keep her own presence quiet until the last possible moment. She felt a bead of sweat trickle down her cheek and mingle with the soft leather fabric of her jacket. Wearing black leather in the height of the dog days of summer wasn't a good idea but she liked to present a certain image, one she felt would be in keeping with her grim tasks.

Her eyes flicked to the metal staircase in the centre of the room but she made no move towards it; she had to be sure the ground floor was empty. Moving behind a ubiquitous pile of boxes she glanced around the small open plan first floor, nothing here but crates and curiously an old bathtub sitting against the far wall.

She heard a car horn sound angrily seconds before two men started a loud exchange of insults, she sighed quietly. It seemed even the locals temper was being affected by this accursed heat wave. Then a sound from above, possibly a chair being moved and all sounds from the outside world were instantly blocked out.

Her movements were silent as she crossed the room and placed a foot on the first step. A semi automatic 9mm berretta in each hand, each barrel had been modified to allow the use of a silencer which she had decided against using today. This was an industrial part of the city where gunshots could easily be mistaken for any number of other less deadly sounds and besides she wanted the people she was approaching to hear her fire, to react to the deafening bang before they reached for their own weapons. In her line of work even a millisecond could be the difference between life and death.

A voice from overhead speaking in her native Maninka tongue and not the French of their colonial conquerors, the assassin grinned, 'Good for you love never settle for what you have been given.' Her fingers flexed on the handle of the gun in her left hand an old injury made this her weak hand. On the fifth step now and depending on where they were in the room her head would be visible to them soon; she would have to speed things up. Climbing the next few steps backwards she took in as much of the room as she could, they were together on the far side of the room looking at something on a screen.

They probably weren't expecting to be targets, these were information people and not active field agents but they should have known better. They were the nerve centre of the whole operation, the cogs which kept the wheels grinding. Taking out these three would leave their people in Western Africa stumbling around like blind dogs for months.

Her body stiffened as it always did just before action, her heartbeat was hammering out of control. She had heard of assassins who could kill and never have their own beats per second go above 65 but she wasn't one of them. She welcomed the increased pulse and the surge of adrenaline it brought with it. Placing the left hand gun back in the holster she clipped it in place she climbed the last step and stood behind them.

Still oblivious to the danger that loomed behind them they chatted and pointed excitedly at the screen. She fired at the woman first, one bullet in the back of the head no suffering and no time to fear what was coming. The second man fell before he had fully turned and the third was reaching into his waistband when her 9mm hollow point tore into his skull and ended his struggles.

She moved across the floor to their bodies and closed the lid on the laptop which had so engrossed her targets only seconds before; pulling out the wires she tucked it under her arm. Moving around the desk past the bodies she whispered, "Be at peace now your battle is over."

Stepping out into the blinding sunlight she pulled her sunglasses down from her dark hair and dropped them onto her face and moved into the deafening insanity that was Dakar in the rush hour allowing the crowds to engulf and shield her.

* * *

The old man sat behind his antique desk with his head in his hands ignoring the glare on the screen in front of him. Another cell had been wiped out, this time in Senegal. In the space of five weeks they had lost three cells in Europe and now this one in Africa. Something had to be done to stem the tide of recent losses and he had sent for his best man with a view to doing that very thing. A sharp rap at the door had him lifting his head, "Come."

The young man entered the room with his usual fast stride and an air of confidence which belied his age. "You sent for me?"

He gestured to the seat on the other side of the desk and slid a grey folder across the surface, "Take a look at this and tell me what you think." Lighting a cigarette he gave him time to peruse the documents.

"It looks like they are all being carried out by the same operative, they have the same MO."

He nodded, "It's going to be your job to find him and stop him."

"There is no information about the operative here so where do you suggest I begin?"

"I suggest you follow in his footsteps. It's not a ghost we are facing here he must leave something behind. Talk to the people in the hotels and the areas surrounding the hits, you know the routine better than I do."

Glancing at the window behind his boss' head he noticed it had started raining, "I'll get the team ready and leave for Venice tonight."

"I don't have to tell you we need this done quickly; we are losing people faster than we can recruit them."

He stopped on his way to the door and without turning back he replied. "It will be done."


	2. The Meeting

She watched the small planes being steered into the hangars with little interest but it seemed better to give the impression of being as involved as the tourists were; something about fitting in, allowing herself the smallest internal smirk at the idea of her ever fitting in anywhere. An elderly couple sat next to her and she returned their easy smiles naturally, moving her small case to the side to make more space for the woman's walking stick.

"Thank you dear I have to keep this thing handy if I ever plan on getting out of this chair in time to catch the flight. That is if this silly storm ever ends and we get to take off."

"No problem at all." Her smile was friendlier than her generic reply but she was already wishing they had chosen another place to sit.

The woman unclipped her handbag and began rummaging inside, pulling out a staggering array of items that Maria could see no need to have with you at all times. In her bag she had a purse with cards and money, a set of keys and a phone. "Are you are coming or going?"

"I'm going home."

"We are too deary and while it's nice to get away it is always lovely to be getting back to your own bed." She placed a whistle next to a tub of Vaseline and dived back into her bag.

She couldn't help but look now half expecting her to pull out a house plant and mirror when the woman let out a short victorious grunt.

"Ah here they are." She turned to Maria showing a small bundle of boiled sweets which had been wrapped in tissue "Would you like one dear? I must have something to suck on at take off."

Maria declined forcing herself not to show any amusement at the woman's perfectly innocent remark. Thankfully her husband leaned over to take a sweet and this got the old woman's attention back to him. Taking the opportunity to end any possibility of further inane chatter she leaned across to the low table in front of her and picked up a magazine, turned out to be about gardening but she had no intention of reading the thing anyway it was just another barrier to keep the outside world just that... outside.

Her mind wandered over the details of her last job unconsciously frowning as she did. She had taken out the four targets with relative ease, the last of them had managed to get off a couple of wild shots but they never came close to hitting her. Four targets given and four lay dead so where the fuck did the girl come from?

She inserted a pen drive into a port and began copying the files from their machine, having uttered her usual message to the victims she would have no further dealings with their bodies then she heard the toilet flush. Her head shot up in the same instant her hand drew her gun from its holster. A door to the right of her opened and a young woman came out singing along to music on her MP3 she got a few steps away from the door before she saw the carnage on the floor around her. Then she saw the cause of the bloodshed standing behind her desk with a gun pointing at her.

Her hands flew into the air and she dropped to her knees, "No please don't I'm leaving I just found out I'm pregnant I can't take these risks any more. Please don't kill me."

It wasn't the first time an intended target had begged for mercy, she had been offered all sorts of bargains but it was the first time she had ever believed their words. The young woman must have seen the effect her words were having on the Templar but she knew her chances were still slim to none. Tears ran down her cheeks as she thought of her boyfriend getting awkwardly down on one knee to propose to her after she had told him about the little life they had made together. "Please don't kill me I don't want to die."

A small beeping sound from the computer told her the files she had copied were complete. "I'm sorry." She fired twice at the girl on the floor before retrieving her pen drive and leaving through a side door walking out into a storm which hadn't been born when she entered the building.

A nasally voice informed her that the flight she was waiting on had been delayed and they would update them as soon as they had news. She stood from the seat and lifted her bag making her way to the exit. She had been in too many airport lounges recently the idea of spending another few hours waiting for a flight that might or might not take off felt pointless. She would find a nice hotel room and spend the night there; get her head sorted out. It's not like she was in any rush to get to London, she had told the old woman she was going home but the truth was she had no home all she had was a place where she waited between jobs.

* * *

Venice and Prague had been total washouts, other than Rauf finding a brief video clip of someone in a hood getting into a car outside the building where the cell had been killed their time had been wasted. To make matters worse Altaïr had received a message that the blackbird had raided the nest again, this time in Gibraltar so they had packed up and headed there hoping to get something from a warmer trail. Their small boat docked at the port at dusk and the men wearily made their way toward the car which had been arranged for them.

He used to enjoy travelling but he learned a long time ago that anything worth seeing in the world had invariably been ruined by a tangled ugly mass of concrete hotels surrounding it catering to the highest number of tourists they could squeeze in. Gibraltar was like that, at the port at least all he could see where private yachts and the roofs of a multitude of hotels. He stopped looking and fed their destination into the satnav.

The storm which was currently pounding the peninsula never missed their small hire car. The wipers had to work full pelt to keep the screen clear enough for him to see and every so often the sky would light up with a fantastic flash giving the hills in the distance an unfamiliar luminescence.

Rauf was reading the reports of the latest casualties but since it had only happened in the past day there wasn't a great deal to learn. He was going through the victims work files trying to find anything that would sound even the slightest alarm bell. "Karen Mathers had tended her resignation; she was pregnant."

Altaïr flinched but it was an automatic reaction; he had never stopped to ask any of the Templars he had killed if they had children or if they were pregnant. It was sad, wrong even but in this war the lines between right and wrong were blurred beyond recognition. Was it ever wrong to kill the enemy? Probably but he had buried enough assassins over the years to feel like it was the price they each had to pay for supporting the causes they did.

They approached the site of the killings but kept on going. The place was still crawling with police tramping over everything probably ruining any chance he had of finding something useful. "We'll go find somewhere to get some sleep and come back first thing; we might get lucky and they'll be finished by morning."

He pulled into the car park of a decent looking hotel. Altaïr pulled his small bag from the boot and took a couple of Rauf's for good measure; tech guys had not the first clue about travelling light. His hood for once didn't look out of place but he was mildly amused to learn it was useless against the rain hammering down against him. "I'll go get us a couple of rooms while you sort out this shit."

The foyer was welcoming and comfortable but all he looked for was a clean room with an ensuite bathroom, the big couches and lamps scattered around inviting the guests to take a book from the many which lined the shelves were wasted on him, he was an avid reader but not of the crap probably gracing these shelves. He approached the desk and began the boring routine of finding another room in another hotel in a whole other city. 'Fuck I'm tired of this crap I just want to find this guy, kill him and go home.'

While the desk clerk was processing his card he told him the restaurant would still be offering light meals for another hour, the bar would be closing at the same time. His eyes wandered over to the area he had mentioned, it was mostly empty. A couple of guys sitting at the bar and a young woman sitting alone at a corner table looking at her dinner like it was contemplating eating her.

"All done sir, if you could just sign here I'll get your room keys for you."

Almost 100% certain it would not be keys he was handed he took the pen and signed the register. Nothing was what it was supposed to be anymore keys, money you name it everything was cards now. He glanced back at the woman in the restaurant and felt his curiosity rise when she declined a drink the men at the bar had sent over to her. 'Good girl you are way out of their league.'

Rauf's clumsy arrival behind him stole his attention from the pale skinned beauty in the corner -grudgingly it has to be said – "Why do you insist on carrying that crap around with you, nobody will touch it locked up in the car?"

Rauf shrugged, "We might need this _shit. _This _shit _has in fact saved your skin more times than I can remember. Stop bitching and grab some of these bags I want to get upstairs and have a shower."

He glanced back at the woman, "I'll help you upstairs but I think I'll come back down and have a drink to unwind."

* * *

Her fingers stroked the stem of her glass, the wine inside remained untouched but she knew sitting here and not ordering would only draw attention and even the smallest detail can be remembered later and shared with the wrong person. The two idiots at the bar had just made an attempt to gain her favour by offering her a drink, an offer she politely but firmly refused. She sighed, a tired empty sound which she instantly regretted. She looked around but nobody was close enough to have heard. She didn't want to go to her room yet but her half eaten meal was already cleared away and she was running out of reasons to sit among them.

She liked to sit in places like this and let the conversation from the people around her interrupt her thoughts. It was a nice, safe distraction. She knew even in here she was alone but there were different sorts of alone. Alone in her room she would have nothing to stop her memories resurfacing to abuse her conscience, it was beaten and torn but still there a small voice which would creep into the foreground of her mind and remind her of all the things she had done in the name of-

"Do you mind if I join you?"

She lifted her downcast eyes with please don't already forming on her lips but she gulped it back down when she saw the man standing a few feet away from her. "I was planning on leaving soon but by all means please do."

He never smiled as he took the seat across from her not bothering to pull it into the table if anything he leaned further back into the chair.

'If you wanted to keep your distance why did you come over here to sit?' However she never spoke instead waiting for him to state his business, something he took his sweet time to do.

He looked across at the men as they got up to leave the bar, "Do you want another?"

Tapping a fingernail against her still full glass she replied quietly, "No thank you."

He raised a hand to summon the waiter and ordered a whisky. Maria raised an eyebrow but said nothing. He looked and sounded Arabic and while she knew Muslims who certainly enjoyed a tipple she knew many more that would never touch the stuff. Then again not all Arabs were Muslim...

He maintained his silence until the waiter returned with his drink and Maria was determined not to be the one to interrupt his quiet observation, perhaps he realised he was being scrutinised in return because leaned forward and ran a finger around the lip of his small glass. "I'm not the best at making small talk but honestly you look as pissed off as I feel and I just wanted to break a monotonous pattern of anonymous hotel foyers."

Her eyes flashed with something, understanding most likely. He pulled his chair a scrap closer to the table and casually offered her his hand, "Altaïr nice to meet you Miss...?"

Her elegant fingers locked loosely with his, "Maria."

"I'll assume you are not a local since we meet here at this late hour, are you here for business?"

"Yes, I am rep for a small drug company."

She looked and was bored as she spent the next few minutes reciting her well rehearsed cover story but the man wasn't really listening to her answers he was watching her body movements, something she noticed very early in their exchange, noticed and guarded against...

"Tell me about you a one sided conversation is not my idea of fun."

He showed as much enthusiasm as she had when he delivered his equally rehearsed back story but neither of them showed any sign of lying. Why wouldn't two adults who were both a little fed up be bored discussing the humdrum details of a life they were currently dissatisfied with?

"Are you planning on being here for long Maria?"

"No I should have left hours ago but my flight was delayed or cancelled I was too tired to hang around for the final verdict."

"No husband waiting for your return then?"

She grinned but was not the least surprised by his bluntness; he seemed like the kind of man who got to where he wanted to go by the shortest route possible. "No husband waiting."

He ran a hand across his still damp hair and decided if ever there was a time to heed the wise words of Homer it was now... He cleared his throat about to make a wild suggestion when she got to her feet stopping his planned advances before they had even begun.

"It was nice to meet you Altaïr but it's been a long day and I really do have to rest."

He stood as he bade her good night and sunk back into his chair. 'Nice going Altaïr you handled that like a pro.' He watched her as she stood waiting for the elevator and remembered the entire quote from the poem ''Carpe diem quam minimum credula postero'.

'If you let her disappear into that elevator you will likely never see her again and when was the last time you met a woman who actually got you interested enough to make the first move?' He got out of the chair just as the doors opened and she stepped inside, increasing his pace he got there in time to stick a hand out and stop the doors closing.

She smiled when he stepped inside, "Did you change your mind about having another drink?"

He stood in front of her not returning her smile but not looking unfriendly either, she was unsure if she had actually seen him smile.

"I never wanted the first drink; I wanted to talk to you."

He watched her eyebrow twitch slightly before she tilted her head to him, "And I rather rudely left you sitting alone?"

He smiled, "No you left me with a choice to make."

She almost lifted her hand to neck to rub the skin he had just gazed at, "And you choose?"

He smiled, "I'm here aren't I?"

* * *

A/N

''Carpe diem quam minimum credula postero': "Seize the Day, putting as little trust as possible in the future"* from an ode by Horace.

_Odes Book I_: Dum loquimur, fugerit invida  
Aetas: carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero

*"While we're talking, envious time is fleeing: **pluck** the day, put no trust in the future."


	3. Cold Grey Walls

She laughed more than a little put out by how direct he was. "And I should be flattered by that?"

He licked his lips, "No... Well of course no but I..." He rolled his eyes cursing his own stupidity. Women did this for him he was not meant to do the chasing mainly because he was horrible at it, something he was proving beyond any doubt. "Maria I just want to talk to you."

She smirked, "Talk just talk?"

The doors opened they had reached her floor. He walked behind her following her to her room. He organised his thoughts and opened his mouth to say something suave which would salvage the situation but when she looked at him her icy blue gaze cut those words to pieces leaving him armed with only the truth. "I'm not going to bullshit you Maria. I never do this; I never try to sweet talk women or hit on them mainly because I can't pull it off. But you walked away and honestly, coming after you and looking like a fool was stupid but letting you walk away without even trying would have been unforgivable."

"Before you started blathering on in the lift I was going to invite you back to my room for a drink or something."

"I don't want a drink."

She pushed open the door and looked back at him over her shoulder, "Are you coming in?"

* * *

Rauf had lost count of the number of times he had yawned and it was starting to irk him. "Is this boring you Altaïr?"

He kicked a piece of paper to see if anything worthwhile was on the other side, "Don't be stupid Rauf I'm tired not bored."

"I slept like a baby those beds are so comfortable. Maybe you should go back to hotel and get some rest then come back when you have something to offer the task at hand."

"So this is what you two get up to while I'm out working hard."

Altaïr lifted his head to see the bottom of Malik's black coat move past his head, "Yes you know full well we can get no real work done until you arrive."

"Staying behind to meet with Dom was well worth it Altaïr, he had some stills from a traffic camera near the site. It is definitely a woman we are looking for."

"Did he get any shots of her face?" He stood up unable to contain his excitement; finally they had something to go on.

"Nope none of her face."

"Then how is it clear it's a woman we are after?"

Malik opened his holdall and pulled out an envelope, "Take a look."

He pulled out the black and white stills, "Yeah that is a woman!" Rauf's curiosity was piqued by their comments he angled his head to take a look.

"Yes a woman, very nice one too by the looks of it."

Malik took the pictures back and used them to slap Rauf across the head, "She is killing members of our order and you say she looks like a nice woman!"

"I didn't mean she was nice I just said she looked nice and fuck you Malik you are normally the first one to comment on a nice body!"

The talk of a nice body dragged Altaïr's mind back to the previous night, "There was a storm here last night none of the flights made it out she might still be here."

Malik checked his watch, "It's after twelve now she will be long gone but there is no harm in one of us going to the airport to ask around."

"I'll go perhaps the fresh air will give me some energy."

Altaïr made his way to the car, ducking under some police tape on his way to it. The airport was only a short drive from here he would be there in no time. As he drove he let his mind wander back over the events of the previous night and the English woman who had captivated him with one glance.

* * *

She stepped out of the car onto the wet pavement, her black boot heels managing to avoid most of the puddles forming without any effort on her part. She was going to be debriefed after her latest mission, a simple sniper job no personal contact and no begging for mercy. She had done these meetings many times but this time felt different, she felt different and the face which had been an almost ever present in her mind was there to remind just in case she ever forgot why.

When the man at the front desk nodded to her she thoughtlessly returned the gesture not even stopping to growl at him for leering at her. She kept her eyes in front watching the modern sign on the far wall come closer to her. Everything in here was grey or glass; soulless and clinical just like the agents they churned out, just like her.

She pressed the button for the lift which opened instantly, of course it did very few of them used this lift only the lucky ones important enough to have access to the top floor. She kept her back to the glass as she waited the 30 seconds it took for the doors to open again. She paused for a second and made her way to her boss, the man who had taken her from being a homeless 15 year old to the monster she had become.

She passed his secretary without bothering to offer a greeting the woman never looked up from her desk, she wasn't supposed to. Her hand was already turning the handle on the door to enter before she realised she hadn't knocked, 'Oh well it's done now.' She stepped into his office and watched him try not to react to her disrespect.

"Maria you are a little early have a seat while I get out things ready."

She dropped into the black leather chair across from him and waited for him to stop shuffling his papers, "Whittaker we need to talk."

"Yes of course we do. That was a nice clean job is Stuttgart in and out with no complications."

She leaned forward and licked her lip curious as to why it had taken her so long to despise this cold hearted bastard. "You send me to Gibraltar with misinformation, the wrong names and the wrong numbers. I know I'm supposed to be prepared for surprises but give me a fucking chance would you?"

He dropped his head and looked at her over the rim of his thin gold glasses, "There was no harm done, you adapted and dealt with it."

"She was pregnant Whittaker and she begged me to spare her life."

His shoulders dropped as he relaxed, for a second there he thought she was going to cause a drama about their lines of communication or something; must be her time of the month. "The first thing I taught you Maria was never to let them beg. They will say anything to get you to let them walk away you know this why is this even an issue after seven years?"

She hated how far from the table she was there was absolutely nothing close to hand to use as a crutch and she knew this weasel was watching her every move for any sign of mental distress. "I need some time off."

"Oh for fucks sake Maria so you killed her, what do you think that makes you unique? Would you care to join me for a stroll through the records to see how many of our agents were pregnant or good Christians or paid their fucking taxes?" He got out of his seat and moved around the table to sit on the desk in front of her, "You are better than this I know it. Fine you need a few weeks off take a holiday or sit in front of the TV but it won't change the facts Maria it will all still be waiting for you when you get back."

She moved further back into the chair not liking him encroaching on her space or his disapproving tone. "It bothered me as soon as I pulled the trigger, I haven't been myself since. When I got back I asked you to give me some time off and you said one more mission then we can give you all the time you need."

"How much time do you need?"

"I want out."

"You want out, just like that."

She sat forward, "I've done more than my fair share. I believed you everything you ever said made sense to me but it doesn't anymore and I will not go on killing for something I no longer have faith in."

He took her hand and led her to the couch in front of his huge window, "You no longer have faith Maria?" He waited until she was settled then he began to recite a speech he had given to countless other agents on the edge of a complete breakdown. "What we do is priceless you know that, our goals go far beyond anything humanity could obtain if we left them to their own devices. What the assassins want is to maintain the status quo, to leave the world and the people inhabiting rotting in their petty worthless greedy lives." It was working, he was preaching to the choir with their mandates he knew she believed in them but now for the hard part. "That woman you killed, Karen she had been with the assassins for 5 years in that time can we guess how many of our agents she located or how many of our plants she helped them sabotage?"

She made no reply and wouldn't look directly at him, Christ he was in real danger of losing one of their best operatives here! "Grayson told you about the team of assassins chasing you; does that have you rattled because we can keep you here Maria, safe and sheltered?"

Her fist slammed against her thigh, "They are chasing shadows I don't care about them Whittaker I care about... Oh fuck this, are you going to at least give me time off?"

He made his way over to his desk keeping his back to her until he could get his features under control, he didn't want her to see the sadness he was feeling. "Okay we have just got news from our mole, there is one more job Maria I won't shit you it's the biggest ever but if you can pull it off you can go. I'll throw you a retirement party right here in this office."

They spent the next half hour going over the basics of the job and to his eternal surprise she handled it like the Maria of old, the girl he had trained and honed to be one of the deadliest weapons he had ever had the pleasure to control and when she left he felt real regret that it would probably be the last time he would ever see her.

He drummed his fingers on his desk and spoke out loud as he often did when he needed a second opinion since there was no one else's opinion he trusted who else could he talk to? "No choice really she is ruined now. I've seen that look too many times not to recognise it might as well let her go out with a bang, we might get lucky and she might actually manage to kill the old bastard before his fanatics cut her to pieces."

Maria sat on her chair looking at the folder on the table, it had been there for the past four months and she found herself opening it at random times wincing every time she saw the woman's face smiling back at her from her picture. Karen Mathers, 28 years old born and bred in Gibraltar and an assassin. She dropped the cover back down and lifted the coffee cup to take a sip. 'Stupid woman why the hell did you ever join that misguided band of zealots?'

The only other article in her whole flat that served no functional purpose was a small photo she kept on the table beside her bed. It showed the smiling face of a young girl with not a care in the world but that smile was extinguished forever when some drug hungry cretin had cut her throat for nothing more than a cheap mobile phone and shitty piece of costume jewellery. She was fourteen when her sister was murdered and her life spiralled out of control after that. Her poor parents had enough shit to deal with they couldn't handle hers and in the end she had run off with some spotty faced boy who promised her the world but in the end left her homeless and penniless.

Whittaker had found her just as she was beginning to make a name for herself as a shoplifter and offered her something far more fulfilling and until she met Karen Mathers she had never looked back now looking back was all she could do; there was no future for her any more.

She lifted her bag and made her way to the car. A short flight to Paris and then, well then she wouldn't have to worry about nightmares.

* * *

A/N I hate where I went with this I want to tear down the last two chapters and make everything pretty

I think this one needs to be binned sorry :(


	4. Altered Paths

Her flight was scheduled to arrive at Charles De Gaulle airport at 5pm and as much as she was grateful for the short flight time the idea of Paris in the rush hour made her trip through the early afternoon traffic of London even more depressing than normal. Her mobile phone started ringing and since most of her conversations were not the type to be held on speaker she answered it manually.

"Its Whittaker Maria change of plans I'm afraid. We were misinformed Paris is a bust he won't be there."

"A change of plans" and not a cancellation told her he wanted something else from her, "So where to now?"

"How do you fancy a job on home soil for a change?"

"You have a job for me in London?"

"No I'm afraid it's not that close but you will still be in good old Blighty. Get your arse over here and Alice will give you the file no reason to go into details over the phone."

The job on home soil was another flight but this one north of the border to Glasgow. It didn't really matter where she was sent but the idea that the assassins were active in such a remote part of the western world annoyed her, 'Why can't they just stick to their nasty little desert camps?'

Her hire car was waiting for her when she got off the plane and as always the file contained everything she needed to know including what to punch into the Satnav. Getting to the motorway was a dawdle and at least once out of the city there was something to look at other than crowds of commuters and grey buildings. The drive to Fort William gave her time to relax and think about her next steps in life. Whittaker would never let her walk away from this job agents don't retire they die or they become men like him, just as dead in her opinion.

Perhaps it was the scenery or the reduction in traffic but the closer she got to her destination the more she relaxed. Her target was an Arab who was apparently here on holiday with his sons but she knew he was one of the main recruiters for the assassins in the Middle East. Her thoughts wandered to another Arab she had met recently except these thoughts made her smile. They had spent a gorgeous night together, gorgeous and surprising. Fully expecting them to make a beeline for the bed the instant they were alone in the room he had instead moved to the sofa and spent hours chatting to her about everything and nothing until they both realised they were on borrowed time and only then had they made love.

In her adult life she rarely took a lover and had never fallen asleep with one but on that occasion she could have happily spent the day in bed with him, tucked up warm and content. This time the smile on her face was far more ironic than sweet, there was no happiness in this life for her and wishing it to be so only further clouded her already confused mind. Glancing out at the beautiful rolling hills she spared him one more thought before she forced her clinical mind back to business.

'I wonder where you are Altaïr'

* * *

Altaïr tossed the towel carelessly onto the bed and answered the knocking at his door, "Come in."

Rauf stuck his head around the door, "Rashid wants us in his room in 10 minutes to go over the plans for the meeting. You and Malik will likely be working security but you know how he likes to make it seem as though we need his instructions."

Nodding he pulled a clean shirt from his case and stuck an arm into the sleeve, "I'll be there."

Moving to the window while he worked on the buttons he stopped for a second to enjoy the lush view so unlike his homeland. From inside his nice warm room it was easy to forget that the wind had almost cut him in half when he stepped out of the car, the weather was just like the hill the house they now occupied stood on – rugged and breathe taking. Sitting on the bed he slipped his watch over his hand and noticing he forgot to change it to the local time he scowled.

When he heard they were coming to Britain he had allowed himself the childish hope that he would somehow accidently meet Maria on the street but once he learned his destination was an isolated house in the Scottish highlands he let that slim hope die. That however never stopped him thinking about her or the brief time they had shared.

She had opened the door and looked back at him over her shoulder, "Are you coming in?"

_She moved into the room leaving him to make up his own mind and he had closed the door behind him. Her room was much like his own, a double bed with a few pieces of furniture scattered around and a small settee resting against the far wall making his way to it he sat down and waited for the woman to give him her full attention._

_She had seemed surprised when she saw he wasn't waiting behind her but she recovered quickly and sitting beside him she had hugged a cushion to her chest, "So you want to talk to me?"_

_He really did and as the hours passed she had tucked her legs beneath her body and let her head rest against the back of the couch facing him while they chatted. The sad expression she seemed to wear as naturally as she did her own skin even gave way to smiles and laughter and he found himself becoming more and more relaxed in her company even telling her true stories of some of the incidents from his childhood just to see her laugh more. At some point his own body had shifted to face hers and he forgot to check every movement._

_"The sun will be up soon and I need to be on the first flight to London." She spoke with real regret and he could empathise with that, he felt it too..._

_Reaching for her he stroked the soft skin of her pale cheek his face becoming altogether more serious he edged closer to her but made no other move. It was her who closed the whole distance between them never taking her eyes from his and sliding her fingers into his hair. Her lips brushed against his with so delicate a touch he wasn't sure if he had felt her lips or her breath against him. He added force to the kiss, their heads moving slowly from side to side as their tongues began to explore._

_Encouraged by her soft moans he tried to push her onto her back but she resisted instead she got to her feet and since her mouth was still on his he followed her lead. They began undressing each other slowly but as more flesh became exposed to the caress of both their mouths and their hands the speed increased until finally they stood bare and still kissing her he lowered her onto the bed._

"Are you ready yet?"

Rauf's loud and unwelcome interruption cut into his fond recollection and a pissed off and slightly aroused assassin barked that he would be there in a minute before he pulled his jacket up from the bed and shot one final look at the window before he made his way to meet the others.

* * *

Her room was beautifully quaint and she took some time to enjoy the homely atmosphere, soaking in the warm water of the old fashioned claw foot bath and refusing to think about anything else except how nice it was. Still with her towel around her head she sat on a soft chair and looked over the maps of the area. Her target was located in an old manor house with nothing around it for miles. She would have to leave the car and make the last part of her scouting mission on foot, in such open terrain she was far less likely to be spotted on foot.

An hour later she stood at the front door trying to convince herself that it wasn't as cold outside as she imagined but failing miserably when she heard a voice from behind her address her.

"Surely you don't plan to go out wearing that, you'll freeze lassie!"

Maria couldn't help but smile at the soft lyrical voice of the woman who ran the small bed and breakfast. "I'm afraid this trip was a snap decision I am woefully unprepared."

"Well come away back inside for now and let me find you something warmer than that flimsy thing."

She took her arm and led her to the stairs, "My daughter has left some of her things here and while she wasn't as tall as you she was as slender we should be able to find something."

A half hearted attempt to pull her arm free and refuse the woman's kindness was quickly rebuffed in a typically pragmatic Scottish fashion. "Don't be foolish now the wardrobe doesn't need a coat to stay warm you on the other do, now come up here with me while we see what we can find."

With a rare grin on her face she submitted and followed the small woman up to her daughter's old bedroom where she was delighted to see enough winter clothing to kit out a small army. "This is very kind of you I'll pay extra to have them cleaned when I return them."

"Away and don't be so prim my lady and mind be back before 10 I like to get the doors locked nice and early."

She drove for the first 10 miles of the journey before pulling into a field and shutting off the engine. Reaching to the passenger seat she grabbed her backpack and braced herself before opening the door and stepping out into the wild Scottish winter night. Within seconds she was more grateful for the generosity of her landlady than she had been for anything in a long time. Even with the warm clothes and coat she still felt the cold penetrating right to her bones as the wind and rain lashed at her. Lowering her head she clenched her jaw and made her way towards the house, taking comfort from the fact that the man responsible for her being in this bloody desolate place would pay.

After about ten of the wettest and most windswept minutes of her life she finally saw the house shadowed against the night sky. Stopping to wipe the rain water from her skin she looked for the least conspicuous way to approach the building but there didn't seem to be one since it stood on the top of a hill there was no cover on any side. They had certainly chosen a very defendable location for their "holiday" she was going to have to get dirty and crawl through the tall grass to get a better look.

The ground was sodden and muddy and her progress was slow, her mood becoming darker with every single move she made, "I think you might make me pay the cleaning bill after all Mrs White and I can't say I'd blame you."

From out of nowhere she heard voices right in front of her causing her to lie down completely flat. It sounded like two men and they were speaking Arabic but that was as far as her knowledge of the language went, their words were nothing but noise to her. The voices faded and she cautiously lifted her head from the muddy ground squinting into the darkness she could see nothing but a light bouncing around on the ground in front of her.

'Fuck a torch! Someone is patrolling the grounds.'

Her face sank into the mud but she couldn't breathe and had to lift it to the side just in time to see the light from the torch move directly onto her body. Ironically now holding her breath she waited to see if her face was dirty enough to provide her with camouflage, it wasn't...

A hand grabbed onto her coat and pulled her up off the ground. She spun around and brought her knee into his groin at the same time she directed the heel of her hand into his nose. Cursing in what she assumed was Arabic he let her go long enough for her to make it a few steps away before something -his boot most probably- caught her square on the back and sent her crashing once more into the mud.

Flipping her body over onto her stomach she tried to reach for her dagger but his knee dropped onto her stomach causing her immense pain and probably a couple of broken ribs. "You broke my fucking nose!"

Swinging a hopeful fist at his face she grunted "I'll break your fucking neck!"

Her fist landed on his cheek but it was irrelevant she heard the other men approach and knew she was captured. Something she had always told herself she would never allow to happen and yet here she was undeniably pinned down and surrounded.

"What the hell is going on here?"

"Malik we have a guest." Pulling her roughly to her feet he shone the beam of the torch directly onto the interlopers face. It took him a few seconds longer to see beneath the dirt but she had no such obstacles.

"Altaïr..."

It was her voice more than her face which helped him put a name to the woman who he now held in a vice like grip and when the penny dropped his face did too. "Maria, what the hell are you doing here?"

* * *

A sorry attempt to salvage this story but I'm not feeling it.


	5. Keeping up Appearances

Altaïr twisted her arm further up her back when he felt her resist his guiding her along the short hallway. She hissed in a low voice that only he could hear, "I wish I had known you liked it rough we could have had so much fun!"

His jaw clenched when he heard her shoulder crack and loosened the grip slightly, not enough to let her move freely but at least he wasn't risking breaking her arm now. "Just keep walking and shut up you will have all the time in the world to exercise your vocal chords soon enough."

"Why are we having a sing song?"

"Glad to see you can retain your sense of humour even when your life is on the line." Stopping at a set of double doors he raised his free hand to knock when a voice stopped him.

Malik caught up to them glaring at his brother, "I'll go inside and tell the old man you can keep her company since you already seem to know each other."

Maria chuckled when the door closed, "Looks like you have troubles of your own."

Rauf wandered up to them and pulled his nose out of her back pack. "There is a gun, maps and a cell phone. No doubting what she was doing?"

"Bird watching is a nice way to unwind and you never know when you might run across something with a head which will look good above the fireplace."

Ignoring her flippant comment he tried something else. "We deliberately altered our schedule and plans for added security you have access to information and you will tell us your source."

Rolling her eyes she scowled at him, "Sch-ed-ule not ske-dule; you are in the birth place of the English language at least attempt not to butcher it."

Rauf stepped closer to her smirking, "I speak seven languages tell me Templar how is your Arabic?"

"Nonexistent I'm afraid but I have the privilege of being born speaking the only tongue one really needs to get through life." She felt the hand on her arm grip tighter and grinned, "Didn't hear you complaining about my tongue in the hotel room Altaïr."

Rauf lifted his eyes to the man standing behind her and watched him almost cringe at her words. He had to admit he would be cringing too if he had slept with someone they were chasing and Rauf was now sure they had spent the night together.

"That's because you were putting it to better use then Maria."

The double doors opened and the man with the dark coat gestured for them to come forward. The room was spacious and furnished exactly how she would expect an old country manor house to look. Lots of antique mahogany furniture and serious looking book shelves. A man stood with his back to them perusing the contents of one of those shelves, not giving them his attention until she was stopped in front of the desk he would no doubt occupy soon enough. When he faced her she closed her eyes and had to stifle a groan. It was the man she had originally been sent to kill in Paris, they had not expected him to be here.

'Just as well I'm going to be killed here it'll save me the bother of murdering whatever incompetent fucker provided the info for this job.'

He was probably somewhere between 60 and 65 with an unkempt mid length greying beard. One of his eyes was almost entirely white but there was no scarring to show an injury. Lifting an arm he gestured for her to sit. "Malik tells me you were found outside creeping around." Sitting in a brown leather seat he folded his hands on the desk and regarded the woman opposite him with no hint of emotion. "You look like you could use a bath and a change of clothes."

She managed a small smile but her wit it seemed had abandoned her overcome by discomfort. This man was not to be trifled with and while Maria had no fear of death she wasn't overly fond of pain and she was probably on the verge of a great deal of that.

"You may have use of our facilities to clean yourself up; no sense in tramping your muddy boots all over the house." Dropping his eyes to a folder in front of him he appeared to be finished speaking but she understood this was part of his charade and made no attempt to stand. "First of course you will have to answer a few questions."

Maria stiffened her jaw and straightened her shoulders, fear or not she would never tell them anything about the Templars. "You won't win you know. We have the upper hand in every aspect of this war." Casting a derogatory eye around the men surrounding her she grinned, "Except perhaps an army of deluded fanatics."

"Who is your mole within our order?"

When she made no reply he lifted his eyes to her and resting his chin on his hands he prompted further. "Something easier then what is your name?"

"Maria Thorpe and whatever it is you are going to do best do it soon. I'll be missed and this place will be crawling with my brothers."

"You are not here alone?"

"Of course I am; we don't tend to travel in packs."

"Where are you staying?"

She thought of the kindly woman who ran the boarding house and felt a tinge of concern, they would find out easily enough. "A boarding house not far from here but I'm told you people never harm an innocent so I assume the lady who rented me the room will be safe."

"Of course she will be but you are correct in saying your presence will be missed." He spoke to the men behind him in Arabic and Maria felt hands slip under her forearms and yank her forcefully to her feet. "I'll see you in a few days Miss Thorpe when we will be free to chat at length."

"Oh, Altaïr a word with you before you leave?

With that she was handed over to one she guessed was called Malik and taken outside to a waiting car. "We are going to take you to your rooms where you will calmly change your clothes and check out, tell her you met up with the friends you had come here to visit. I don't have to tell you how any attempt to escape will end."

"At this point the idea of a bullet in the back sounds perfect."

"Remember the woman Maria you are not alone in this until you have left her behind."

Al Mualim stood from his seat and put a hand on the corner of the desk. "Malik tells me you have some history with this woman..."

'Yeah I bet he did...' Closing his eyes he bit down the urge to snipe, "History is a bit strong I met her once in Gibraltar and no I never had any inkling she was a Templar."

"She is THE Templar Altaïr. The one you were sent to find and kill. Are we going to have a problem my son?"

My son... Those words were often used during difficult conversations and occasionally it troubled Altaïr how much he needed to hear them from this man. "No Master, there isn't a problem; you need have no concerns my loyalty is not divided."

Glancing at his desk so the younger man wouldn't see the smug look in his eyes Al Mualim took a second to compose himself. "Her words were accurate, we are outmatched and outgunned but we will continue the fight because to do otherwise would be to deny who we are." Tugging open a drawer he withdrew a black leather pouch. "I want you to have this, it was mine in my younger days and I can think of no man I would rather see wield it now."

Altair reached for the package knowing it was a dagger of some sort but surely not the one from – the velvet separated between his fingers and in spite of himself he sucked in air when he saw the dagger from the case in Al Mualim's study. "Master I don't know what to say – this is a real honour, thank you."

Moving back behind the desk the old man smiled warmly at his best student, "Think nothing of it your effort and dedication have earned this and more. Go now and take care of this interloper, I will send Rauf to intercept William we will have our meeting elsewhere."

* * *

The car pulled up outside the small boarding house and Maria reached for the handle, "Remember don't try anything, as you said there is no need to endanger an innocent woman."

Shaking Malik's hand from her arm she nodded, "Don't worry nothing will happen here; I'll kill you both and escape at a more opportune time."

The old woman stood in the doorway with her much practised speech about returning late on the tip of her tongue but the sight of the woman covered in mud and the two men beside her took her in an entirely different direction, "I was getting worried about you, I was sure you had gotten yourself lost in the hills. Come away in and get cleaned up lassie."

The group moved into the hallway of the house, "I'm sorry about your daughter's clothes I'll pay to replace them of course but for now I need to have a shower and pack up my friends arrived a lot sooner than I expected and we'll be moving further north now."

The old woman assured her there was no need to pay and offered the men something warm to drink but both declined, "I'll go up and help her get her stuff away and get out of your hair that much sooner." As he spoke Altaïr climbed the stairs behind Maria to her room.

After searching the bundle of clothes she pulled from her small case he threw them towards her, "Leave the bathroom door open and make the shower quick."

Maria threw a look over her shoulder which reminded him of another time, "Are you coming in with me?"

Ignoring the twitch in his groin he scowled at her, "There is no window in there so I have no need to watch just get it over with quickly."

Her laughter echoed around the tiled room until the water drowned it out. Letting the water run over her face Maria closed her eyes, this was a mess and for now she would have to go along with these men but she knew escape was her only hope. They would torture her to gain the priceless information stored in her head and all the bluff in the world wouldn't dull that pain.

'Bide your time Maria they will slip up and when they do you will have to be ready.'

Malik watched the two women chatting while Maria settled her bill and now that she wasn't caked in mud he could see what his brother had seen, she was sexy. Moving to Altaïr he whispered, "I can almost forgive you for sleeping with the enemy now that I see her cleaned up."

"She doesn't have a fucking red cross tattooed on her forehead you know I had no way of knowing who she was." He sneered but his eyes wandered back to the woman in question. Should he have known? He had felt a connection with her, on some level he knew they had "something" in common and despite what Malik might think he hadn't slept with her because of her looks. Maria was finished paying and now the woman was engaging her in pointless small talk, he decided it was time to intervene and get them out of here. "I don't wish to be rude but we have a long drive ahead of us."

The old woman smiled warmly at him as he took Maria's arm, "What a handsome couple you both make. I can see why you were so rushed to get to him you forgot to pack proper winter clothes."

Maria's face lit up with amusement but Altaïr replied before she could, "Thank you we do don't we. I was just far more eager to meet up than she was and now I have her we will be inseparable."

"It's lovely to see such an honest young man not afraid to express his feelings he is clearly very fond of you my dear."

Looking at his fingers wrapped around her arm before raising her eyes to his she smiled. "It's mutual Mrs White only death will separate us."

They had been driving for almost half an hour before Maria decided to speak up. "So, where are we off to?"

"You don't need to know that Maria but I will say I hope you like sailing."

* * *

Sorry this is so short I can't get into a rhythm with this one but I'm trying there is a fic here somewhere I know it! Thanks for the encouragement Pkitty :)


	6. The Journey

Through the dark night they drove to a small port which was being battered by the same wind and rain that the hills they had left behind were subjected to. A small yacht docked beside the pier was being precariously tossed around by the waves and Maria was forced to stifle a groan, she did not have good sea legs in the best of conditions - this was going to be unpleasant to say the very least. Malik took her arm and forced her along the wet stone of the ancient looking pier and when she stopped to glance back with real longing at the hills behind her she caught sight of Altaïr his hood was pulled down over his face but she could see the thin set of his mouth and the tightness of his jaw – he was blaming her for his recent embarrassment and she knew she would find no favour with the man.

She was pushed along a small plank to board the waiting vessel, knowing nothing about sailing didn't mean she didn't know a bloody fancy yacht when she saw one but that was about the extent of her seafaring know how. There were two men already onboard and they showed Malik where he could stow the prisoner, the one who did all the talking was Irish, Maria scowled at him but kept her mouth shut, her reason being that in the very near future she would require whatever anti sickness medication they had so it was probably best not to antagonise them. She had to duck to avoid hitting her head on a low beam as she was led inside but Malik who was behind her didn't see it in time. She heard a loud sounding crack and his voice uttering what she assumed were curses and couldn't hold in her laughter. 'God I hope that was as painful as it sounded.'

She was rewarded with a rough shove forward and when she turned to grin at him she could see the beginnings of an angry looking bump on his forehead. "Clumsy aren't we?"

To his credit he never reacted to either her laughter or her comment he merely stepped around her and pushed open a small door. "Go inside and get comfortable you are going to be there for a while."

Moving past him she smiled and reached for his bump, "You should put some ice on that before it gets any worse."

Yet again he refused to be drawn; he simply blinked at her and waited for her to follow his instructions. Before he closed the door she caught sight of her former lover and smiled at him, "I guess you won't be joining me this time?"

Drawing his wet hood from his head he licked his lips and rolled his eyes at her. "Close the door Malik."

Stuck in a room not much bigger than a broom cupboard - with her back to the wall her outstretched leg could reach the opposite wall - she spent a restless night on the floor. With nothing to do but sit on there trying hard not to pass out between short passages of uncomfortable sleep. The seasickness was nowhere near as bad as expected and while she was grateful for that the smells emanating from outside were promising to make damn sure she vomited. The lock on the door clicked and she looked up just in time to see Altaïr come in carrying a tray.

"I'll set this down here but don't complain about what you are getting this isn't a hotel."

She snorted when he knelt beside her to put down her food. "I'm surprised you are actually feeding me, seems like a bit of a wasted effort considering very soon you'll be torturing me."

He sighed as he stayed on his haunches beside her, "I won't torture you Maria. I'm fairly certain the old man wants information from you but I doubt you'll be tortured."

Her laughter was genuine and an unwelcome reminder of the night he had spent with her, despite her obviously dark mood the sound was melodic and light. "What is so funny?"

"You're funny, you want information but you don't think I'll be tortured. Tell me, do you plan to chant the tenants of your creed until Stockholm syndrome kicks in or were you hoping for a road to Damascus type conversion?" Her laughter had ended and the open smile which accompanied that was now a sneer. "Of course I'll be fucking tortured but don't trouble yourself to feel bad on my account I can promise you if the roles were reversed I would already be holding the pliers to your balls!"

His knees cracked when he regained his full height. "You mock Maria but perhaps being around people on the right side will have a positive effect on your outlook."

"Well I'm certainly glad to see you can remain objective!" She kicked the tray he had just placed beside her, "You can take this with you I won't be eating it."

He swooped down and lifted the tray taking a bite from one of the sandwiches, "Worried it was poisoned?"

"If I thought it was I would have eaten the whole lot in two bites. I don't want your food and I don't want your conversation so why not do us both a favour and fuck off."

"It's nice to see you can maintain decorum even under such trying conditions." He smiled before locking her up once again.

He entered the small kitchenette area and sat opposite Malik at the dining table. His friend chuckled and shook his head.

"What?"

"Oh nothing it's just your expression Altaïr you look like you won the lottery but lost the ticket."

He sneered but tried to keep his voice even. "Next time you take her food to her and see if you come out smiling."

Malik shrugged, "If she insists on being difficult the better idea would be not to offer her any food next time, missing a meal or two does tend to weaken the resolve."

Picking up his own lunch he chewed thoughtfully before bringing up what was on his mind. "She thinks she is going to be tortured."

Malik nodded as he swallowed a forkful of scrambled eggs, "Good, at least she is not deluding herself." Altaïr lowered his head and his friend could see he was going to have a problem with that. "Given the history you have with her it's unlikely you will be asked to play any part in her questioning."

His only response was to continue staring at his meal prodding at it with his fork.

'Yes indeed he is going to have real problems.'

Glancing in the direction of her makeshift prison Altaïr offered one final thought. "Perhaps we can change her thinking, make her see the error of her ways?"

"It is possible brother but I would guess highly unlikely."

Many more hours had passed with nobody coming near her and that suited her just fine, she had no time for all this namby pampy, softly- softly crap she was their prisoner and that is how she wanted to be treated – how she would have treated them. Except she had never dealt with prisoners, she was a killer not a jailer and that line she had thrown about attaching the pliers to his nuts had been pure bluster. The one time a target had not died outright she had shot him again quickly to end his suffering, information retrieval was not her field at all. She heard voices calling out from the distance and wondered what they were saying but it was impossible to guess. Setting her head to the side she prepared herself to listen for any useful information when her door opened and Malik stuck his freshly bruised head around it to greet her.

"Up on your feet we are on the move."

"Where are we?" As she spoke she tried to stand but her cramped conditions of the past few hours had left her stiff and unresponsive.

Malik leaned forward and pulled her by the arm. "Come on old woman we don't have all day."

"Not going to tell me huh?" He shook his head so she continued, "It doesn't matter where we are because I'll kill you both and escape regardless."

The laugh he gave in response to her comment was both genuine and youthful. "I'll look forward to the attempt my good lady."

Swaggering past him swinging her hips she kept eye contact with him as long as possible, "Make sure you do handsome because one tiny slip will cost you dear." Tapping his cheek with the palm of her hand she made her way onto the deck and almost walked head first into Altaïr. He had heard the final part of their conversation and was grinning over her shoulder at his brother.

"We have been warned Malik nobody can say otherwise." Both men moved to the front of the small boat to converse with a man waiting on the jetty leaving Maria alone with one of the crew.

The Irishman who had told them were to put her chuckled and moved in closer to her, "I wanted to come down and keep you company but these two fellas over there have some antiquated ideas on how to treat women. I tried to tell them you would welcome my attentions but still they wouldn't agree."

Nibbling her bottom lip she raised an eyebrow and looked him over, deliberately slowly from head to toe taking her sweet time when her gaze moved over his groin. "Who can say Irish it might have been beautiful!"

His tongue swept greedily over his bottom lip "Maybe they won't object to giving us a few minutes alone now. I'm sure I could have you singing from our hymn sheet in no time at all." He was playing with her and they both knew it but he was not the sort of man to miss out on the chance to flirt with a beautiful woman even if she was a Templar – that only made it more fun.

Her eyes beckoned him closer but her mouth stayed closed until he was close enough to smell the faint lingering aroma of her shower gel then she raised her knee and smashed it into his groin. Grabbing his hair in a deathly tight grip she whispered to him, "Be careful what you wish for Irish –"

Altaïr's arms wrapped around her body before he bodily swung her to the other side of the boat. "What did I tell you Seamus, she is not to be underestimated?" Thinking the conflict was over he let her go and turned to speak to the younger man but he was already on his way past him with his hand curled into a tight fist. It connected with her cheek on the right side of her mouth an instant before Malik's boot connected with his stomach.

"What the fuck are you doing?"

Lying doubled over on the deck he coughed and spluttered, "Jaysus there was no need for that; I was just putting that high handed bitch in her place."

The Syrian looked with disgust at the man on the deck but said nothing. "Let's go now we can be airborne in less than thirty minutes."

He watched his friend to make sure he would move and not seek to further punish the novice assassin who had harmed – Malik wasn't sure how to finish that sentence just exactly what was she to him? Watching them as he led the woman from the boat Malik chose not to pursue that line of thought until he absolutely had to for now it was easier to believe that Altaïr was not compromised and would do whatever he had to in their ongoing battle with the Templars.

Her boot heels clicked on the concrete which led from the runway to the waiting car of the small private airport they had just landed in. He watched her as she walked to his left, her head held high in spite of the bruise now beginning to form beside her swollen mouth. Malik walked up the small flight of stairs and held the car door open for Maria who had just begun her ascent. He tried not to look up as he walked behind her knowing exactly which part of her body would be most visible to him but in the end he caved and chanced a sneaky peek – he was only human after all. He caught sight of the sole of her boot a millisecond before it smashed into his face. The explosion of pain the blow caused in his face was staggering and for a short time he was disorientated by a combination of that and dizziness.

Malik saw his brother leaning forward clutching his face and narrowed his eyes as he squinted through the low winter sun to see what troubled him. Maria moved toward him at a perfectly normal pace until she got within reach of him then the heel of her hand snapped forward and connected with his nose. He ducked to try to avoid the blow but she saw this coming and lifted her knee to his gut, stealing his breath. The man in the driver seat was unfastening his seat belt and reaching into his jacket at the same time, telling her he had a gun. Abandoning her plan to steal the car she broke into a run heading for the only building she could see, hopefully beyond that would be a town and not the hills she could see in front of her now.

Altaïr's head cleared just in time to see her disappear into the hangar, his feet already moving in her direction before he had fully digested the entire scene. Throwing open the door he saw her ducking beneath the wing of a small plane and he drew his weapon. "Stop or I'll fire Maria."

She barely broke her stride as she hurdled over a low table and made for the door at the side of the building.

"Fuck!"

Knocking things out of his way he heard the door open and knew Malik had joined the chase. She made it to the door but he was gaining on her and would have her within seconds. Lunging out behind her into an empty field he paused for a second to see which direction she had chosen when her foot crashed into his throat. Thankfully his reflexes were razor sharp and his hand managed to take most of the force from the blow and twisting her leg he tossed her to the ground before dropping his full body weight on top of her.

Balling her hands together she aimed them for his face but he grabbed them and forced them painfully behind her back. Their bodies bucked against each other struggling to win the physical battle but there was only ever going to be one winner and when Malik took hold of her leg and pulled her out from under him her escape attempt was over.

"Took my eye off you for a second and look what happened." Grinning as he hoisted her to her feet and stuck her arm so far up her back he could hear the bones crack and creak under the strain.

"I did tell you what would happen if you gave me a chance."

The lower half of Malik's face was covered in blood from the blow to his nose but he swept an arm impatiently across it and sneered. "Just in case you have any plans to try it again I think you should know that I would have shot you."

She saw the men exchange a look but had no idea what it was about then Altair rubbed his jaw and began moving it around to make sure it still worked. "I'm grateful for the exercise but next time not in the face okay."

Out of breathe and in no mood to play she rolled her eyes and let Malik move her back to the car. "Welcome to Limassol Maria I'm sure you are going to have a wonderful time on the Island of Love."


	7. Reality

Maria had managed a quick glance around at her surroundings when Malik had hoisted her from the back seat and hurried her towards the small black door. They were high in the hills with only a few cottages scattered around. The life of the island was all lower down beside the port, she could see the luxury yachts and villas but they were too far away to matter.

The door was opened by a younger man who welcomed them inside smiling broadly and speaking Arabic before reaching to take Maria from Malik's grip. "Come to the kitchen and have something to eat."

Taken aback by this young man's friendly welcome she let him lead her to a large wooden table. Pointing to a pot of soup on the centre of the table he grinned, "I hear you haven't eaten anything so this should be most welcome."

Compliant more through surprise than a desire to please she sat down in front of a bowl and nodded. The young man filled her bowl to the top and cut her a few slices of bread. He smiled triumphantly at the other two men when she thanked him and reached for a spoon and took her first sip.

"Did you make this?"

His blue eyes danced with amusement, "Sadly no, one of the women from the village did but I warmed it up."

Taking the seat directly across from her he filled his own bowl. Malik dropped onto the chair next to him scowling, "So you decide not to offer us any?"

Swinging his spoon carelessly in the direction of the pot he replied, "The ladle is right there Malik dig in."

"You poured hers."

"She is a guest."

"No, she is a prisoner."

"All the more reason to be kind then – brighten a dull day and so on."

"It's because she's a woman isn't it?"

"Malik pour your own damn soup and shut up I'm trying to eat."

Maria's gaze went between the verbal tennis match not sure what to make of it when Altaïr taking the seat next to her attracted her attention. Helping himself to some soup he reached past Maria to take some of her bread.

Whack! The back of her spoon caught his hand full force. "What the fuck!"

"That is my bread, he gave it to me."

"There's a whole loaf over there you could easily have more."

"Fine, hand me the knife and I'll play mum."

Altaïr glared at her while clutching his injured hand to his chest, "You could have just said no. It's a little alarming how quickly you resort to violence you should explore that with a counsellor."

His expression was so wounded that for an instant she regretted hitting him, just long enough to remember he was an assassin. "Look at you coming over all Ghandi and handing out anger management tips."

"I don't know why you are complaining at least you have soup." Arms still folded over his chest Malik now looked even younger than the man sitting next to him.

"Oh for fucks sake, are you for real?" Standing up she reached for his bowl and filled it, "Here you go your soup..."

He kept his arms over his chest for a few seconds then muttered, "Thank you."

"You are most welcome."

Less than an hour ago this man had told her he would have shot her and now she was smiling at his childish behaviour. It seemed so... out of character.

"Tell me brother, when did your tiny little prisoner break your nose?"

Malik's head snapped up from his bowl and he met the younger man's insolent look and with them now facing each other Maria could see it clearly, they were brothers – literally. "She is a highly trained Templar agent Kadar if you forget that she will hurt you."

"No, I will not!"

All eyes turned to her with the youngest of the three men smiling happily, "He has been kind. You two on the other hand have been pricks." Dunking the thickest piece of bread – the piece Altaïr had wanted – into her soup she added, "I like him but you two... well I could take you or leave you."

"She has promised to kill us the instant we drop our guard."

Malik looked quite pleased while making this statement until Kadar replied. "Looks like she already made a reasonable attempt."

"No sweetie that was an escape attempt when I want to kill them it will a tad more severe."

"You look a bit beaten up which of them hit you?"

"Neither." Touching the bruise beside her lip she grinned, "That was a certain Irish member of your order who felt he could take me below deck and convert me to your way of thinking."

"And you think his attempt would have failed?"

She shrugged, "I'm not so sure... I do have a certain fondness for men who have mastered the art of tantric lovemaking."

Kadar looked nonplussed so Malik decided to help. "Tantric means –"

"I know what tantric means I just don't see how it can be applied to love making or even why you would want to."

"Give it a few years love and you'll want more than a quick knee trembler."

Despite his youth Kadar had spent far too much time around older people to blush easily and he didn't now. "Who can say?"

Maria noticed Malik making head gestures to Altaïr and replied for him, "No he didn't." Altaïr's head dropped a fraction, "Aw it was still nice though don't worry."

Kadar looked at every face around the table feeling like the only person who didn't get the joke until... "You didn't, did you? How could you? I mean she's a prisoner. Good men in Geneva made rules about this crap for a reason you know."

Maria's smooth velvety laugh almost drowned out the chuckling from across the table. "She was just a woman then not a prisoner and this is the last time we will mention that." He felt her hand squeeze his thigh but kept his face stoic.

The next few hours passed surprisingly quickly for Maria, the men holding her were far from demons and she found the conversation entertaining enough. Kadar told her a few stories about his childhood, most of which had been spent around the two men who took her prisoner. She learned Malik was his older brother but they had been orphaned in their early teen years.

"What about you do you have any family?"

"No, not anymore, not really..." She tried to smile but it was a weak effort and Kadar could tell he had hit a nerve.

Altaïr hadn't taken much part in the conversation but he did notice how her expression changed, "Not anymore, what does that mean?"

Maria bit her lip and weighed her options, any refusal to answer would show them a weakness, "My sister was murdered and my parents couldn't cope with me and their grief. So it literally means not anymore as in no longer."

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine, think nothing of it. However I am rather sleepy so if you can point me in the direction of my cell..."

Standing from his chair Malik replied, "Sorry the cells are all full up, you Templars have been careless lately. We do have nice room with a beautiful view of four grey walls you might like instead."

He had spoken with a light hearted tone but he wasn't kidding about the walls. The room she was locked in was not only windowless it was grey. There was a single bed and nothing else but at least this time she had room to stretch her legs. Dropping onto the floor she began her ritual of muscle stretching exercises she had been practising for years before moving on to press ups and stomach crunches. All the while going over the strange events of the day, the men who had treated her in a way she would never have expected – like a human being.

Lying on top of her bed she had been drifting off to sleep when she became aware of eyes on her and the realisation Altaïr was in the room had her bolting off the bed. "I didn't mean to wake you I thought you might need to use the toilet or something."

Tugging her top down past her hips she smiled awkwardly, "Yes I do thank you."

Like the perfect gentleman he stayed outside but told her not to bother trying the window, it was sealed shut. She could hear the brother's laughter from the front room as she came back outside and started to think this might not be so bad after all. Any of these three men met under normal circumstances could easily have been friends, well not friends she didn't have any of those but something other than enemies.

Back in her room she thanked him once more and waited for him to lock the door but he lingered a while before gently closing the door and moving towards her. "Maria make this easy on yourself. I honestly don't think you'll have nails driven into your hands but it will be unpleasant so just tell him what he wants to know and save yourself some suffering."

Normally she would react to this sort of nonsense with scorn but she could tell he was being sincere – he was seldom anything but – and besides it was him... "I can't, I'm sorry but I can't there is too much at stake."

His head dropped perilously close to hers and she moved hers closer still. His lips were millimetres from hers, she could practically taste him. "I just don't want –"

She put her fingertips on his cheek and whispered, "I know."

Ignoring all the alarm bells ringing is his head he brought his mouth down upon hers and allowed his body to have what it seemed to have been aching for since the night they had spent together – her.

Summoning all his self control he broke the kiss but kept his arms locked around her. "This can be fixed Maria I know I can help you to see sense if you'll only let me." She smiled up at him, her deep blue eyes showing no sign of the killer he knew her to be, all that was reflected in them now was – "I just wish –"

She omitted a short bitter laugh but kept her own hold of him, "Wish in one hand and shit in the other and see which one fills up first."

More loud laughter reminded the lovers they were not alone and he drew away from her. "Trust me Maria if you cooperate I can help you, I will help you."

He locked back one last time before closing the door and locking her inside her makeshift prison. Maria returned to the bed and spent the better part of the next hour before sleep trying to convince herself that her reaction to his touch had been false, that she had been trying to gain his favour and nothing more but it was an argument she couldn't win, it seemed her heart had an entirely different opinion and would not be denied.

She heard footfalls on the stone floor outside her room and stood up in preparation for whoever would greet her. The small pine door swung open and a man she hadn't met came inside. He was heavier than the other men, if a little shorter but he looked meaner. Grabbing her roughly by the arm he dragged her out of the room behind him.

She could see daylight spilling out through the open doorway ahead of her and wondered how long she had slept. He forced into the front room she had last seen housing the brothers but now the old man was the only other person present.

"How nice to see you again so soon Miss Thorpe but I did tell you I would make a special effort to meet you again." He waited until Abbas had her standing directly in front of him before he carried on. "Have you decided what you are going to do?"

"I had considered a stroll along the beach but it looks a bit dull out."

The back of Abbas' hand came down hard on her mouth and her head flew to the side. She tasted the blood filing her mouth and she snarled, "I see you're finally showing your true colours."

"I just wonder how far we will have to go in order to learn what you know."

A thick line of blood trailed down her chin as she felt his fingers digging into the soft flesh of her arms and decided to meet him head on. "Oh no you are not even close honey you are going to have to be far more creative than that."

He smiled and caught her face with his hand. "I'm not a cruel man by nature but I need what you have locked away in that pretty head of yours. You will find we can be very creative when so much is at stake."

She felt Abbas' breathe brush against her cheek as he laughed and Maria knew she was about to learn what it really meant to be a prisoner of the assassins.

* * *

I think I know where to go with this finally, hopefully :)


	8. Threats and half truths

Malik grunted at the old man who barged past him in the market place and scowled at his younger brother "It's your fault we're here Kadar. Have some soup, have some bread and let us all be friends!"

"I was taught not to harbour hate for my enemy and that is exactly what I did besides which Malik she looked like she needed a friend can you imagine how horrible it would be to be captured?"

Rolling his eyes he tutted but inside he was smiling, he had played a big part in Kadar's education and it gave him some satisfaction to see his words had not fallen on deaf ears. "You are correct but we cannot become too close to them either it would only make our jobs harder. She is a killer Kadar and you must never let your guard down even for a second. Do you doubt she would kill you if she had the chance?"

He shrugged his shoulders and smirked, "I was at my charming best, she was captivated by be. You on the other hand... she would kill without batting an eye."

"I'm serious brother do you want me to show you some of the photographs we have of her victims?"

"I know Malik calm down I was joking she is a Templar and I don't trust her." Moving past a rundown stall which seemed to offer nothing but cheap knock off band T-shirts Kadar followed his older brother to the edge of the market place and looked around for the man they were here to meet. There were a staggering number of Russian people around and despite his skill with language it had been a tongue he had always struggled with. They were a few streets away from the sea front and the cottages of the fishermen on this side of the island at least had managed to survive the onslaught from the tourist industry. The ancient looking stone buildings looked far more solid and inviting than the villa's sprawling out over the rest of this beautiful place and anything looked better than the hotels which scarred the coastline.

They had been sent to collect an American who had travelled from Egypt to meet with the old man but when Altaïr moved toward them from the dock alone Kadar knew something had gone wrong. "He's been delayed his boat will arrive later tonight."

Malik pulled the cell phone from his back pocket and scrolled to the number he wanted, his face became darker as the conversation progressed but when he tapped on the screen and turned back to his brothers he tried to hide how annoyed he was. "We are to wait here for him."

"What the fuck are we supposed to do here all day?"

"Wait for his package to arrive..."

Altaïr's face darkened, "Kadar should have done this alone. I see no reason for us all to be here."

Kadar's face reddened, they all knew they were having their knuckles rapped for being so relaxed with the prisoner but what the hell else did they expect? "It was only soup, the old man is over-reacting."

Malik looked from his younger brother to the older man and decided he liked his smug expression even less than usual. "Yes it's not as though he had sex with her or anything..."

Kadar shifted from one foot to the other as he watched the men stare at each other. He had seen this so many times but the threat that it would turn into something more was ever present. "Okay, let's just go find something to eat and wait like we have to." He moved on a few paces past them hoping one of them would break eye contact with the other and follow him. This time it was Altaïr who stepped away first but his expression was as stony as always.

* * *

"Why were you sneaking about our house?"

"I told you I was out looking for something nice to shoot."

She felt her teeth sink into her lip as Abbas' hand bounced off her mouth. The old man sighed and placed a hand under her chin. "I have no desire to hurt you Maria, you will tell us what you know why not make it easier on us all?"

He was right, she knew she would talk but she would be damned if that hairy faced smirking bastard was going to have the satisfaction of seeing her break. "Get rid of the ape and we'll talk."

This time his fist smashed into her temple and Maria actually felt something inside her head dislodge. She couldn't hear the words he was spitting at her she was far too focused on the fireworks behind her eyelids but she understood well enough that he was pissed off. His fingers grabbed a handful of her hair and he yanked her head back. "Arrogant bitch I'll wipe that look from your face."

She winced as she felt his spittle land around her mouth but his anger gave her a brief spurt of courage, "For a second there I thought you were going to kiss me. Make your mind up it's either a torture or a courtship although I'm sure the latter would be far more unpleasant."

He stared at her and she saw something in his expression, something which crushed her new found nerve and any hope that she could get out of this in one piece. This man was not quite right in the head and he was going to do whatever it took to get her to sing like a bird. "Abbas go out for some fresh air and get your temper under control, we are not animals and we will not behave as though we were."

The younger man scowled and for a second Maria thought he was going to disobey his commander but the light in his eyes faded and his shoulders dropped before he nodded and tugged open the door to leave them alone.

"Now Maria why were you there? Who told you I would be there?"

"I was sent to Paris to find you but we were informed that had been cancelled so they sent me north instead but my target was William Miles not you."

Al Mualim nodded, her words rang true. They had altered plans at the last minute to increase security but someone frighteningly high in either his or Miles' inner circle had passed that information along. "Who sent you?"

"I don't know who sent me and I don't know how told him where I should go. I get phone calls and packages we never meet in person."

Maria had heard stories of people who could resist torture for days but she knew she was not one of them. It was painful to tell him even as much as she had but death could come in many different forms and the quicker it came to her now the better. She hoped the little truth she had told him would earn her that mercy.

"You never met him?"

He was no fool and she was smart enough to see that but he was not going to get names from her, she could handle the fact they had her but Whittaker and the others... well those names she would do her best to keep to herself." "I was trained by a man called Jarvis and met other agents over the years but nobody gave me real names and I was never included in anything outside of my own job."

He smiled and lifted a soft towel to her face wiping the blood from her mouth, she had to be one of their best – her work was exemplary and he knew that you treated your best like royalty. She knew more than she was telling but he had a start and that was something. He truly had no love of pain, either receiving or inflicting but he would do whatever it took to get the secrets from her. "There is no rush; I have been travelling for days and at my age that leaves the bones aching. A good night sleep will do us both the world of good."

Once more locked up and alone in her room Maria dropped onto the mattress and held her head in her hands. "How could you have been so fucking stupid?" Ashamed by how easily she had given even what little she had, she groaned when she felt her jaw throb painfully underneath her fingers and she laughed bitterly, "Karma you are indeed a bitch."

At some point sleep claimed her weary thoughts and Maria was almost caught off guard when the door slowly creaked open, almost... Her eyes were open and sleep was left behind in the blink of an eye as she watched the shadowy figure emerge from the dimly lit hallway into her bedroom. His shoulders were broad and slightly rounded and his heavy footfalls on the stone floor told her instantly this was not Altaïr – he moved like a cat on the prowl – this man was much heavier and far more cumbersome in his movements.

"Hello again did you think I had forgotten you?"

Even in the gloom she could see the white of his grin as he came within reach of her, she smelt the stale sweat and the odour of tobacco mixed with liquor and prepared herself for the fight of her life.

* * *

A/N sorry this is so short I'm trying to force myself into getting it going again :(


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